Can Psychological Assessment Contribute to a Better World? Our Discipline's Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030

Several problematic topics have been put forward by the United Nations. Not addressing these critical issues will make the world a worse place to live in by 2030. Contributing to solving these difficult and concerning issues is a contribution to humankind – and all domains of science and practice are called to carry their weight, channeled through the Sustainable Developmental Goals. In our world, where increasing complexity and instability may hamper the development of mankind, we wonder whether Psychology in general, and Psychological Assessment in particular will remain more or less passive actors, or will become active game-changers in reshaping the planet as we know it. Here, we argue that psychological assessment can and should be more actively involved, and we will show how it can actively contribute to achieving the SDGs. As psychological test developers, researchers, and users, we should not bury our heads in the sand. Because we understand fundamental aspects of human nature, we are capable of advancing hypotheses, measuring, and making robust predictions about human behavior with profound implications for planetary challenges. Psychological assessment cuts across a number of subdisciplines and has numerous contact points with many other disciplines. Education, promoting well-being, gender issues, reducing inequalities, or making job environments a safer place are just a few examples of how this discipline can contribute to Sustainable Development Goals without becoming a new discipline, or losing our essence. All in all, we strongly believe that Psychological Assessment in particular, but Psychology in general, should take a more active role in pushing mankind toward the SDGs. In 2030 the world will be a worse place if not all scientific disciplines contribute. Up until now, very few countries have explicitly implemented psychological interventions in their SDGs programs with robust assessment tools. We know, and we understand, fundamental aspects of human nature. As psychological scientists, we can, and we already do aim to contribute to the global network of disciplines tackling the biggest planetary challenges.